Internet Control in Five Political Regimes in Latin America

Abstract

Since 2010, internet control and security policies have been increasingly enforced (Freedom House, 2016). The literature on the subject indicates that the mechanisms of internet control vary according to the type of political regimes. This study aims to verify if control of the internet in Latin America varies according to the type of prevailing political regime. Five Latin American countries were selected as representing different political regimes: Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Cuba. Freedom of expression on the internet indicators from Varieties of Democracy are reported for each case. Freedom on the Net classification is used as an additional categorical variable. Results indicate that there is a correlation between political regime (measured by polyarchy index) and internet freedom. Indeed, the more autocratic the regime is, the more first-generation internet controls are observed, including content censorship and violations of users' rights. While in hybrid regimes, second-generation controls are more commonly observed, which involve obstacles to access, without customary content blocking and network shutdowns.